


The sunshine of a friendly gaze

by middlemarch



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Allusions to Battlestar Galatica, Babies, DJ Roomba, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family, Holidays, Humor, Kid Fic, Marriage, Pet Names, Thanksgiving, Waffles, allusions to Star Trek, allusions to fanfiction writing, but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-06 07:26:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12812586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/middlemarch/pseuds/middlemarch
Summary: They had officially decided not to worry about Thanksgiving since it was so close to Leslie's due date.





	The sunshine of a friendly gaze

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sassy_doctor_foster](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassy_doctor_foster/gifts).



Ben would have been worried that it was Thanksgiving morning and there was not the smell of roasting turkey already filling the house by 8 am, a saucepan of cranberries bubbling away sort of the way he imagined Leslie’s mind did if the cranberries represented ideas for the expansion of Pawnee’s summer rec league, except that the babies were three weeks old. It didn’t feel quite right calling them “the triplets” anymore, since they’d arrived and had each made it clear they were entirely, Knope-i-ly individual, beyond Sonia’s tuft of blonde hair and the dimple in Wesley’s chin. Steven screamed the loudest, like a Ringwraith, and Sonia had a strong left hook. Wesley smiled the most, which meant he needed to be burped the most, but despite the lack of intent, Ben was happy with the small grin on the small face.

Leslie had been up with Sonia most recently and he found them on the starting-to-sag recliner in the den. Neither of the boys was down, but he could hear the opening chords of their morning symphony on the staticky monitor and he quickly poured an enormous mug of coffee. And then chugged down half of it, aware that Steven’s shriek could ruin even the finest brew.

“So, you decided to listen to me and keep it low-key this year?” he said, gesturing at the relatively bare kitchen counters, the un-set table. Her collection of vintage turkey salt and pepper shakers was out but that was always true.

“What do you mean?” Leslie said. She didn’t sound tired, per se, but she didn’t sound chipper and driven, which was tired for her.

“No turkey in the top oven, no succotash, no 12 pans of bread going stale. No holiday music playing. And the babies are not all wearing turkey-themed onesies,” he said, letting the caffeine flood him, lighting up this neuron and then that. He’d been up with Steven at 1 and had had a hard time falling back to sleep again until he started mentally reviewing the plot-points of his latest rare-pair Spock/Starbuck crossover fanfiction. He was on chapter 3 and he knew how chapter 5 began, but not how to bridge it and keep Laura Roslin from commandeering the ultimate epiphany…

“I mean, yes and no, babe” Leslie said, patting Sonia’s back.

“What part is the no, Leslie?”

“Well, no turkey, but I found a Pinterest page about how to make one from waffles and so I thought we’d do that. And there was a waffle calzone recipe, with a maple-sausage filling, so I pinned that too. Ann is bringing a salad,” here, Leslie made a sound like a half-swallowed gag, a sound Wesley made before he spit up, “and Ron is bringing brisket he smoked. And Ken Hotate said he’d bring a traditional Wamapoke dish and clams Casino. And--”

“And there’s more?” Ben said. He’d known her long enough he shouldn’t be surprised but that was Leslie for you. For him.

“Yes. If you look at the binder, you can see the prototype of the babies’ sweaters and caps. My mom finished Wesley’s as a favor,” she said. “And Tom is bringing DJ Roomba’s grand-daughter, DJ Sparkxxx and he promised to put actual holiday music on. And no Raffi.”

She had the faintest hint of a whipped cream mustache, he noticed, and her hair was in two lo-sided pigtails. He glimpsed the silver of her wedding band against Sonia’s back and the way his daughter’s face fit against Leslie, just where her heart beat. Wesley cooed into the monitor and he spoke before Leslie could.

“I’ll get him. Happy Thanksgiving, Lesliemin. I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was a gift-fic for sassy_doctor_foster who was spending Thanksgiving on her own. I did try and check the timeline; Ann's son Oliver is born around Galentine's Day and Leslie finds out she's pregnant in the next episode, which I guesstimated was March and triplets would in all likelihood come early so...
> 
> The title is from "Home for the Holidays."


End file.
